West Michigan Whitecaps open road trip with loss in Clinton

CLINTON, IA – The West Michigan Whitecaps were held in check by the Clinton LumberKings pitching staff on Wednesday night, opening their six-game road trip with a 4-2 loss to the Seattle Mariners’ affiliate at Ashford University Field.

West Michigan (19-12, 60-41) scored first and last on Wednesday, putting the potential game-tying run aboard in the ninth before their last-gasp rally fell short. Clinton (13-18, 43-56), who limited the Whitecaps to just three hits between the first and ninth innings, won for the sixth time in their last eight games.

Chad Green did not allow a run after the first inning on Wednesday, but he still took the loss as the Whitecaps fell, 4-2, in Clinton.

The Whitecaps jumped out to an early lead in the top of the first. Wynton Bernard opened the game with a double over the right fielder’s head. After advancing to third on a flyout, Bernard scored on a groundout by Raph Rhymes to give West Michigan the early 1-0 lead.

But the LumberKings answered in the bottom of the inning. Aaron Barbosa reached on an infield single and Chantz Mack drew a one-out walk. The baserunners pulled off a successful double steal as Chad Green struck out Justin Seager for the second out of the inning, and Marcus Littlewood lined a two-out, two-run single to left as Clinton pulled ahead, 2-1.

The two starters quickly settled in, and the one-run margin remained until the LumberKings were able to pad their lead in the bottom of the sixth.

Jack Reinheimer, who was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles on the night, greeted Whitecaps’ reliever Montreal Robertson with a leadoff double. Two pitches later, Mack pulled a two-run homer inside the right field pole as Clinton seized a 4-1 lead.

The next West Michigan rally did not come until the ninth, when Dominic Ficociello reached base on a one-out single and Grayson Greiner doubled him to third. Ficociello scored when Francisco Contreras reached base on an error, putting the game-tying run aboard with just one out.

But second baseman Luis Caballero made a great basket catch on a blooper to right-center by Willy Adames, and Pat Leyland groundout to short to end the game.

LUMBERKINGS 4, WHITECAPS 2

Next game: West Michigan's Jonathon Crawford vs. Clinton's Edwin Diaz at 7:30 p.m. ET on Thursday at Ashford University Field

Radio: WBBL-FM (107.3)

Clinton’s Eddie Campbell (6-7) earned the win despite entering the game with a 5.92 ERA and the highest walk total in the Midwest League. The left-hander was sharp on Wednesday, limiting the Whitecaps to one run on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks in five innings.

After two shutout inning from Kevin McCoy, Emilio Pagan (11) worked in and out of the trouble in the ninth to earn the save.

Green (3-4) took the loss for West Michigan despite keeping the LumberKings off the scoreboard after the first inning. The hard-throwing right-hander was charged with two runs on four hits in five innings, striking out four with one walk.

The Whitecaps are in the midst of a six-game road trip that continues on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET against the Clinton LumberKings. RHP Jonathon Crawford (5-2, 3.20) is scheduled to pitch for West Michigan against RHP Edwin Diaz (3-5, 3.32) of Clinton. The next home game at Fifth Third Ballpark will be at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 29, featuring 10-cent hot dogs, entertainment from the ZOOperstars and the Van Andel Institute’s Purple Night. Season, group and individual tickets can be reserved by calling the Whitecaps’ front office at 616-784-4131 or visiting www.whitecapsbaseball.com.